Ok, now we're getting a bit more into the romance aspect. Morty is pretty shy and while Layla isn't, this is definitely a weird time in her life for something like this to happen. I'll probably move updates to Sunday to give me a little more time to sit down and write, hope you guys enjoy this!
This time around Layla doesn't mind the creaking floorboards in Burned Tower. Though she is creeped at being able to see through the cracks into the darkness.
It feels too much like it's looking back at her.
The painting looks even more radiant in the daylight, despite the fading of the colors, she's still in awe of it. She takes out her gear to take a picture when Morty's voice stops her.
"Layla," he grabs her, pulling her back from the point. "Eusine said it wasn't stable. Be careful."
She chuckles. "Whoops."
"I'm supposed to watch him, not you," he sighs.
"Well, it's not like I fell through," she replies. She gestures to Eusine as the man tries to peer over the edge of the center hole in the first floor. "And I wasn't doing that."
Morty glances over and groans. "It's like having kids."
She laughs snapping the pic and wandering after him, passing her bag on the most stable part of the floor by the entrance. Her eyes wander the decrepit building, her mind a flurry of questions; what was it like in its prime? Who walked these floors at that time? Aside from the history tied to it, what else happened here?
Lost in her thoughts Layla doesn't see the rock in her way until she's stumbling over it. Morty spots her falling and leaves Eusine's side to rush over and catch her. He manages to get an arm around her shoulders, but her forward motion pushes him off balance. He lands on his back with a deep 'Oof', before the dust can fully settle, the weight of their bodies together causes the floor to crack.
Their eyes widen and stare back at each other before the crack turns to creaking and tearing and they're suddenly falling through.
Layla's breath catches in her throat as they tumble downward. She tries to lift her weight from him so he doesn't get squished, but he holds her tight against him. It seems like forever, but finally, they hit the bottom and roll in dirt, ash and rock. The impact makes them both grunt. Her body aches as the world tries to right itself while feeling a heavy weight pressing her down.
"Morty?" She coughs, her eyes adjusting to the dim light around them.
The weight on her chest shifts, she blinks faster watching his blond head lift from her chest and his purple eyes meet hers.
He freezes.
They're face to face, mere inches between them, her breaths fan over his face and his do the same. Time seemingly stretches as her eyes memorize his face, the hint of freckles on his nose to his long lashes. Her journey ends at his lips, flushed and parted in shock...
"Guys! I'm coming down!" Eusine's voice echoes down the tunnel, breaking the moment.
Morty's eyes widen as he scrambles to get out of the way. Layla urges him, helping him get to his feet with herself not far behind. The thumping of Eusine's body pushes them forward but too slow. He crashes into Layla's legs and she drags Morty down with her.
"Ouch," she groans, hands and knees scraped from the landing.
She looks up again to see Morty below her, his hair splayed to the side and headband tossed aside. Her left leg over his right, his left over her right and her arms on either side of his torso.
She flushes once again. "S-sorry."
"Are you okay?" he breathes, his eyes never leaving hers.
She leans back, untangling their libs in the process. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he stammers, accepting her hand to stand up.
"Me too," Eusine grumbles, sitting up with a grunt too. "You two have to be more careful."
They glare at him, crossing their arms before turning away to ignore him as Morty glances around. He picks up his headband and shoves it in his pocket.
"We should get back," he says, stepping up to the tunnel they fell through, into its light. "It's about time this place got a reevaluation for safety hazards."
"Wait," Eusine gasps. He stands up fast, dusting himself off with wide eyes. He narrows his eyes into the distance, focusing on something in the light. "I think I see something."
"Eusine-"
"And he's gone," Layla laughs, watching her best friend stumble over the rubble to the open area lit by the gaping hole.
She wants to say more but stops when she spots what Eusine was talking about. The tops of three statues peek from below ground level, as if there were a lower level . Her hand flies to Morty's wrist to pull him along. Her footsteps are more sure on the shifting ground as she tries to keep up with Eusine.
"Whoa," the blue eyed man gasps when they meet at the edge. Morty stumbles into Layla, making her stumble into Eusine. He puts his arm out to catch them, his face in awe of their discovery. "They look so life-like..."
On the floor below three huge statues of the Beast Trio stand proudly in the sunlight. They look exactly as Eusine said, life-like, as though they would turn their heads to gaze back at the humans before them. As if they had been turned to stone and left to sit here for centuries.
The painting really did its best to capture their likeness, the fierceness and power.
The air gets thick, like the moment before lightning strikes and the statue's eyes glow. Layla grasps Morty tighter as stone melts into skin and fur, and wind rushes around them. The Beast Trio come to life before them, shaking out their manes and groaning at the feeling of getting to move. The energy in the air settles around the pokemon as they look towards their audience.
Whatever Eusine was going to do, he stops at the moment Suicune gazes at them. Layla wishes her heart would shut up, the pounding of it in her chest feels as though it's going to explode.
Surely, they can hear it.
There's a pause, as if they realize the humans present are real and they are real, and that's when it starts.
Raikou roars first, the sound piercing like the crack of lightning, then booming like thunder. Crackles of electricity dance in the air as it does so, its purple mane leaving a shower of sparks to fall on the ground. The electric type hunches down before leaping into the air and disappearing out of the roof.
Then it's Entei. The fire type looks so regal tossing its head back to roar. Her body vibrates at the sound, right down to her bones. She swears the area heats up, but that could be her. It looks to them once more before leaping in the opposite direction as Raikou. Him to the West and Raikou to the East.
Lastly, Suicune.
The northwind pokemon gazes at them, unperturbed by their presence, almost studying them in a way. Layla's grip moves to Morty's upper arm as the pokemon takes a few steps forward, toward them. Eusine trembles just a few inches ahead of them as he realizes the same thing.
The Pokémon's eyes trace over to Layla, her heart stopping at that moment and her blood running cold. Suicune steps in her direction, the ledge not too far off the ground it walks on, regarding her for what seems like eternity.
Then it, too, roars and leaps past them. The fluidity of the movement catches them off guard, and leaves them all speechless. The moment it disappears, sound filters from the floor above and the pressure leaves as if sucked out by a vacuum.
Layla is the first to regain her senses, her voice comes out hoarse. "Did that... Did that just happen?"
Though the energy went with the trio, the room still feels tense. It takes a while, but Eusine whips his phone out and drops down to scour the ground for foot prints. "It did!"
His shout breaks the spell on Morty, the gym leader's eyes filling with life as he gazes around the new room. Eusine continues in his excitement. "Do you understand what we've just discovered?"
"Yes," Morty replies, though his tone is neutral. Layla realizes she's still holding him.
"What's wrong?" She pulls her hand away.
"Trainers will want to catch them and they'll go to dangerous lengths to do so," he frowns. "Or, worse, Team Rocket will get to them."
She shudders at the thought. "Now what?"
"We have to keep it quiet," Eusine says, seeming to agree. "This part of the city might have heard the sounds, but with the seclusion I doubt anyone saw anything."
"Best thing to do is keep quiet and keep an eye on the news."
"Or, track them," Eusine grins, he's eyes practically glowing.
Morty sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know you're just going to do it behind my back if I ask you not to. Fine."
"I'll be okay," he responds with a flick of his hand. "I've been working towards his my whole life."
"I said fine."
"Just, please, be careful," Layla cuts in. "Team Rocket isn't a joke."
"Don't worry about me," he grins at her. "I may starve."
"Ugh, fine," she rolls her eyes, though the smile shows she's not actually mad.
"But, now?" He turns back to them, putting his phone away and smiling at them. "We celebrate!"
He lets Hugo out of his ball to get them back to the first floor, Layla grabs her bag and heads to the entrance. Morty takes the time to talk with the guard on duty of the incident, minus the Beast trio. The officer closes the gate behind them while Morty makes a note in his phone to speak to the mayor about it later.
They teleport again, this time to a house on the outskirts of town towards Route 39. Layla glances back to see the expanse of Ecruteak including the towers and Mt. Mortar in the distance.
"Where are we?" she turns back to see them wandering through the front door.
"My house," Morty grins. "I don't just live at the gym."
She flushes. "I didn't say that."
She steps into the entryway, slipping off her shoes and gazing at his home. To the right of the entrance sits a door left ajar, a quick peek tells her it's his room. In the hallway, a set of stairs leads up to the second floor. To the left is an open way to a living room, a wall mounted TV sits above a well used fireplace between two windows.
It's cute.
"Layla, quit being snoopy!" Eusine calls from down the hallway.
"I'm not done," she calls back, already heading in that direction.
She pauses on the threshold of the kitchen, her eyes wide with admiration.
Along the wall she faces, on the left, sits double ovens, a large sink and a dishwasher. The countertops are sparkling gray, possibly granite, with one section being butcher block. The fridge sits against the inner wall, in the corner next to a door for what she can guess is the pantry.
"Morty," she turns to her right to see a range cooktop below a wide vent.
"Hmm?" he looks over at her from the fridge.
"I love your kitchen," she beams. "There's no way you designed this."
"And if I did?" he raises a brow. "Just kidding. This was my parent's house. Mom-well, Mom wanted a big family."
"Oh, so you have siblings?" She tilts her head.
"No," he responds before pulling out some beer and wine. "I don't have much for desserts, so these will have to do."
"That's fine," Eusine cheers, grabbing a bottle of beer from his hands and popping it open.
While he gets started on his celebration, looking over the pictures on his phone and taking out his notepad to jot down more notes, Layla feels bad. Again for asking questions she shouldn't. When he hands her a glass of wine, she touches his arm with her free hand.
"Sorry I ask terrible questions. I swear I'm not doing it on purpose."
He chuckles, reaching up to lightly pinch the arm holding him. "It's okay. I keep luring you into those traps."
"Just to make me feel bad?"
"More or less," he nods. He dodges her swat with a laugh. "I'm kidding. It's really okay."
"Enough flirting," Eusine abandons his work to butt into their bubble, his beer held up. "Now. To the beast trio! They survived the fire and all the years since. May they enjoy life yet again!"
Their glasses clink and they each take a hearty sip. It doesn't take long for Eusine to down his drink and start toasting Suicune. He turns it into a party, drink after drink, while Layla and Morty take turns passing him shots of water to prevent a hangover.
Before it gets too late in the afternoon, Layla finishes her second glass and opts to head home.
"Bye Lala," he hiccups from the breakfast nook. His words slurred and his movements sloppy.
"Bye Houdini," she smiles at him.
Morty walks her to the front door with an easy smile. "Ditching so I have to care for him?"
"Stop it," she whines, slipping on her shoes.
"I'm kidding," he laughs. He adjusts his scarf, nervously. "Let me know when you get home?"
Layla's heart restarts and she pulls out her 'gear. "Sure."
They trade phone numbers and Layla manages to keep calm. They're friends, this is a normal thing friends do. Right?
Before she can fumble this, she picks up her bag and heads out. Aves stretches his wings out and lets her climb on. Morty waves as they take off, a slight blush on his cheeks and Butterfree fluttering in his chest.